Planter



I Aug. 2, 1927.

- E. ARNOLD P/LANTER Filed Aug. 17. 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 E." ARNOLD .PLANTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 17, 1925 E. ARNOLD PLANTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 17, 1925 Patented its, aiaav.

outrun i sirarss EDGAR ARNOLD, F KENT, OHIO.

' 'PLANTER.

Applicatio n filed August 17, 1925. Serial No. 50,730.

' This invention is a machine for setting which willsetthe plants at any desired dispout young plants and the'object isto providef a; -machine which will automatically take the plants'rfrom .a holding element and set them in the ground andthen compress 1 the earth around the roots asthe machine is drawn forward over a field. The invention seeks to provide a machine by the use of which a narrow furrow will be formed to the-furrow as the plants are set therein, means being provided to prevent the fur- 'row ;being-close d by the surrounding earth The invention also seeks to provide a machine 'tance, apart andwhich will automatically accommodate itself to unevenners in the surface of the ground so that the plants will be set at a uniform depth. The inventionis illustrated in the accompanying drawings and willjbe' hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: I t 7 Figure 1 is a plan viewshowingone embodiment of the invention; 7

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thesame;

Fig. 3 isa central vertical longitudinal section; r

dis a horizontal section on the line 14 of Fig. 2, and v c Fig-5 is atransverse section on the line 5-5of Fig. 2. 7 r y In carrying out the invention, I employ a main supporting frame which consists essentially of a crossbarl carrying a seat 2 for the driver and side bars 3 secured to V and extending forwardly from the said vcross I 4. 'On the under side of the frame at the barthe forwardends of said side bars being preferably curved toward each other and secured to and supportmg a platform front end thereof is a fifth wheel 5 carrying a front wheel or roller 6, and any preferred "form of draft device, indicated at 7, may

be connected with the fifth wheel so that the machine may be drawn over a field along the ro'wlwhich is to be planted Ground Wheels, 8 are mounted upon the side bars 3 adjacent the rear ends thereof so that the main frame will be supported by the ground and may easily travel thereover. Adjacent the rear edge of theplatform 1, a pivot rod 9 securedon the mainframe and a supreceive the plants and. water supplied to plemental frame, indicated as an entirety by the same. The supplemental frame consists of side bars 12 connected at their'front ends by a table 13 carrying the bearingsll and connected at their rear ends by a cross bar 14. Intermediate longitudinal bars 15 extend between the cross bar 14 and the table 13 and are arranged adjacent but at opposite sides of the central longitudinal, line of. the machine. A driving shaft 16 is mounted in suitable bearings upon the cross bars 15 and one side bar 12'and projects at one endbeyond the said side bar so as to carry a driving wheel 17 between the said sidebar and the side of the main frame v-xhereby, as the machine is drawn forward, thewheel 17 through its contact with the ground will rotate the shaft 16 and the plant carrier which is mounted upon said these arms 19 are secured the plant-engaging fingers 20. These plant-engaging fingers are formed ofmetal and are resilient so that the outerfree ends of cooperating fingers are normally spaced slightly apart. As shown in Figs; .1 and 2, the plant-engaging fingers20 are provided in pairs, the members of each pair being secured to opposite sides of one arm 19 and at their free ends, said fingers are slightly bowed or dished in cross section, as shown most clearly at 21 in Fig. 5. Thehub member 18 is secured firmly to the shaft 16 so that it will rotate therewith when the latter is rotated through the action of the ground-engaging wheel 17, and in advance of said shaft I provide means for temporarily supporting a plantin position tobe engaged by the fingers as they move downwardly The plant-supporting and holding-means consists of a pair of doors 22 pivoted between their ends at the upper edges of vertically disposed transverse supporting plates 23' secured upon the supplemental frame immediately adj acent'the rear edge of the table 13. These doors are preferably given the form shown most clearly in Fig. 5 whereby they'have an upper outer flat portion 24 which norends thereof normally meet at the center of the machine between the intermediate bars 15' and in spaced relation to the said bars the extremities of the doors being turned downwardly to form abutting stop ups 26.

immediately above and at the said step lips 26, openings 27 are formed in the doors to aecom'n'iodate spurs 27" formed on the edges of the phint-encaging lingers 20 whcreby the lingers will be brought into position to engage arouud'the plant before separating the doors to permit the plant to pass between them.

The young plants are placed upon the table 13' and operators ride upon the main frame in seats provided therefor on the side bars 3' so that the said operators may conveniently reach the plants and transfer them n'ianu'ally singly from the table to a position between the inner downwardly eX- tending portions of the doors. A plant is placed in the bight presented by the doors with the roots extending forwardly, as will be understood upon reference to Fig. 1, and as the machine travels a pair of fingers will be caused to ride downwardly between the doors and by their engagement with the said inclined inner portions of the doors will be caused to engage around the plant so as to support it without crushing'it andthen as the movement continues, the fingers will pass down between. the stop lips 26 and force them apart so that the plant and the fingers carrying it may pass downwardly to set the plant in the ground. In order that the finger-s may be held in engagement with the plant until the setting point is reached, guide rails 29 are provided on the under side of the supplemental frame, and these guide rails consist of flat-sided arcuatc bars secured at their forward ends to the under side of the bars 15 immediately below the doors 22 and at such distance apart. that the plantengaging fingers will be held together closely enough to avoid releasing the plantprematurely. These bars are of arcuate form, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2, and have straight portions 30 which are secured to the under sides of the bars 15 adjacent the shaft 16 and in advance of the same whereby the rear ends of the arcuate portions of the guides will be held against spreading and the'proper support for the plant-carrying fingers will be provided. fThe plant-engaging fingers will not clear the guides until they are approximately in a vertical position that they will properly engage the surface" soiland press the same inwardly about the plantto support the same and enable it to take root. lower ends of brackets or hangers 32 of any approved form secured to the under sides of,

the bars 15 and depending therefrom, as will be readily understood.

Carried by the front end ofthe supple mental frame is a furrow-forming device consisting of a plow or furrowopening blade" 53 which .lS suspended from the frame by a rigid hanger 3d and n'eferabily consists of a thin pl presentmg its edge to the ground as will be understood upon reference to Figs. .Ef and i of thifa"fLlt'l'OW-(JPGHlll member isa furrowshaping pl w consisting of a substantially U or V-shaped plate'85 having lateralfwings 36 extending from its edges to ride upon the ground and press the soil sufficiently, to prevent the walls of the furrow collapsing. These wings will run approximately horiaontal.,tlieir front ends being raised from' The rollers are carried by the To the rear end portion the ground just enough to prevent dragging dirt into the furrow, and it will be readily understood that the furrow-shaping member will run below the surface, following the furrow opener. and will pack the soil at the sides of the furrow sufiiciently to prevent collapse thereof after the plow has'passed. The furrow-shit iing plow is of such length that its rear end is located just in advance of the packing rollers l so that theplant to be setwill be carried through the trough presented by the furrow shaper and consequently enter the furrow without breaking down the walls of the same. The operation is so timed that the plant will be released just after it clears the rear end of the furrow shaper and the packing rollers'31 Will then at once ride upon the surface soil immediately at the sides of the plant and will compress the soil about the plant. A tank 37 is mounted upon the platform 4 and a hose leads from the tank into the trough of the furrow shaper, as clearly shown, so as to supply water to the furrow, thereby aiding in the packing of the loose soilabout the roots and also furnishing immediate nourishment for the roots.

so that the flow of, the water maybe easily I cut-off valve 39 is provided in the hose adjacent the'tank controlled. Erected upon the'table 13 immediately in rear of the platform 4 and the tank thereon is a-windshield 40 which may be of any approved construction and serves to effectually prevent the plants being blown from the table .13 by hard winds or by the natural draft created by the travel of the machine.

To set the furrow-forming elements so' as to run'at any desired depth, I provide an angle lever 41 which is fulcrumed at its 4 angle upon a post 42 erected upon thetable 13 at the center thereof, and to the rear end of its lower arm is pivoted a connecting rod 43 which has its lower end secured inv one wing 36 of the furrow shaper. A link 44 is pivoted at its front end'to the end of the upstanding arm of the angle lever and extends therefrom to the rear of the frame,and projects therefrom over the supplemental frame, a post 49 being secured upon the rear end of the supplemental frame,'as shown in Fig. 1, and being. pivotally connected at its upper end to the lever 47. The bracket'48 carriesor has formed thereon a rack 50 cooperating with a latch on the lever47 in the usual manner to hold the lever and the supplemental frame in the position in which they may be set. a

It is thought the operation and advantages of the'machine will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. The main frame is carried by the wheels 6 and 8, and the driving wheel 17 which i is mounted upon the supplemental frame, also travels upon the ground and receives motion through traction. The machine will follow the unevennesses in the surface of the ground and the pivotalmounting of the supplemental frame will permit to a limited eX- tent additional accommodation of the supplemental frame to the unevennesses so that the plants will be set at a uniform depth. it

7 being understood that, if desired, the pivotal connection between the hand lever 47 and the post or bracket 49 may provide for a slight lost motion. As the machine goes The supplemental frame.

forward, the furrowforming elements will open the ground and shape a narrow furrow therein to receive the plants and the plantengaging fingers will successively enter be,- tween the doors 22 and clasp a plant placed thereon and then carry it into the furrow, as has been previously set forth. The water from the tank 37 will be delivered within the V-shaped central portion of the furrow shaper and will, consequently, be concentrated about the roots of the plant and will be prevented from spreading over the surface of the ground. The plant-engaging fingersare removably secured to the radial arms 19 and, consequently, by removing certain of the plant-engaging fingers the plants may be set at any desired distance apart. The machine is compact and is free of complicated structureso that it is not apt to get out of order and will operate efficiently without requiring constant repairs or readj ustment.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

I l. A plant-setting machine comprising a supporting frame, a pair of transversely alined plant-holding members having downwardly'converging portions terminating in abutting stop lips and provided with openings therethrough at said lips, means for yieldably holding the opposed converging port-ions of said members in contact whereby to support a plant, and a plurality of pairs of normally open plant-clasping fingers arranged to ride upon and between said plant-holding members to engage the plant and remove the same, said fingers being provided with forwardly projecting spurs to enter the openings in the plant-holding members whereby to avoid dislodgment of the plant prior to its clasping by the fingers.

2. A plant-setting machine comprising a supporting frame, a pair of transversely alined plant-supporting members mounted on the frame and having their inner end portions inclined downwardly and inwardly, yieldable means for holding said inner end portions of the plant-supporting members together to support a plant, a plurality of pairs of normally open plant-clasping fingers arranged to ride'upon and between said inner end portions of the plant-supporting members to engage a plant and remove the. same, and means below said members to hold the fingers closed until the plant reaches the ground.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

EDGAR ARNOLD. [L. s.] 

